List of the largest metropolitan areas in Africa
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the largest urban agglomerations in Africa
. Figures are from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report, as well as from citypopulation.de. Figures for administrative areas are also given.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Figures are from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report, as well as from citypopulation.de. Figures for administrative areas are also given.
| Rank | Central City | Country | Administrative area Latest figures from national census authority |
Agglomeration (2010; UN WUP) |
Agglomeration (2010-01-01; citypopulation.de) |
Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairo Cairo Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life... |
7,786,640 (2006) Governorate |
11,001,000 | 15,200,000 |  |
|
| 2 | Lagos Lagos Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa... |
7,937,932 (2006) The 16 local government areas of Lagos proper |
10,578,000 | 11,800,000 |  |
|
| 3 | Kinshasa Kinshasa Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River.... |
5,528,000 (1998) Province |
8,754,000 | 8,900,000 | ||
| 4 | Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa... -Ekurhuleni |
3,888,180 (2007) Metropolitan municipality |
3,670,000 | 7,550,000 | ||
| 5 | Khartoum Khartoum Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"... -Umm Durman |
2,919,773 (1993) The three principal cities of the Khartoum agglomeration |
5,172,000 | 4,975,000 | ||
| 6 | Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving... |
4,110,015 (2006) Governorate |
4,387,000 | 4,575,000 | ||
| 7 | Abidjan Abidjan Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal... |
4,210,200 (2002) Département |
4,125,000 | 4,400,000 |  |
|
| 8 | Casablanca Casablanca Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture... |
3,631,061 (2004) Région |
3,284,000 | 3,975,000 | ||
| 9 | Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... |
3,497,097 (2007) Metropolitan municipality |
3,405,000 | 3,775,000 |  |
|
| 10 | Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism... |
3,468,086 (2007) Metropolitan municipality |
2,879,000 | 3,650,000 | ||
| 11 | Accra Accra Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous... |
1,659,136 (2000) District (Accra Metropolitan Area) |
2,342,000 | 3,575,000 | ||
| 12 | Nairobi Nairobi Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is... |
3,138,295 (2009) Nairobi administrative area |
3,523,000 | 3,500,000 | ||
| 13 | Kano Kano Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a... |
2,153,225 (2006) The six local government areas of Kano proper |
3,395,000 | 3,375,000 |  |
|
| 14 | Ibadan Ibadan Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area... |
1,338,659 (2006) The five local government areas of Ibadan proper |
2,837,000 | 3,375,000 |  |
|
| 15 | Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ... |
2,487,288 (2002) Mkoa |
3,349,000 | 3,225,000 |  |
|
| 16 | Algiers Algiers ' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000... |
2,947,461 (2008) Wilaya |
2,800,000 | 3,175,000 | ||
| 17 | Addis Ababa Addis Ababa Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia... |
2,738,248 (2007) Astedader |
2,930,000 | 3,100,000 | ||
| 18 | Luanda Luanda Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million... |
1,823,282 (2002) Provincia |
4,772,000 | 3,100,000 | ||
| 19 | Dakar Dakar Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland... |
2,452,656 (2005) Région |
2,863,000 | 2,675,000 | ||
| 20 | Pretoria Pretoria Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is... |
2,345,908 (2007) Metropolitan municipality |
1,429,000 | 2,525,000 |  |
|
| 21 | Tunis Tunis Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants.... |
989,000 (2006) Wilaya |
767,000 | 2,325,000 | ||
| 22 | Harare Harare Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its... |
1,903,510 (2002) Province |
1,632,000 | 2,300,000 |  |
|
| 23 | Douala Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country... |
1,514,978 (2001) Wouri département |
2,125,000 | 2,200,000 |  |
|
| 24 | Abuja Abuja Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos... |
1,405,201 (2006) Federal Capital Territory |
1,995,000 | Not listed | ||
| 25 | Kampala Kampala Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen... |
1,337,900 (2005) District |
1,598,000 | 1,970,000 | ||
| 26 | Bamako Bamako Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world... |
1,215,335 (2005) District |
1,699,000 | 1,920,000 | ||
| 27 | Maputo Maputo Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its... |
1,099,102 (2007) Province-level city |
1,655,000 | 1,910,000 | ||
| 28 | Rabat Rabat Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000... |
627,932 (2004) Préfecture |
1,802,000 | 1,890,000 | ||
| 29 | Antananarivo Antananarivo Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana.... |
1,879,000 | 1,860,000 | |||
| 30 | Lusaka Lusaka Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head... |
1,084,703 (2000) District |
1,451,000 | 1,830,000 | ||
| 31 | Yaoundé Yaoundé -Transportation:Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods... |
1,248,235 (2001) Mfoundi département |
1,801,000 | 1,750,000 | ||
| 32 | Ouagadougou Ouagadougou Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais... |
1,475,223 (2006) Municipality |
1,908,000 | 1,700,000 | ||
| 33 | Conakry Conakry Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500... |
1,092,936 (1996) Région |
1,653,000 | 1,690,000 | ||
| 34 | Kaduna Kaduna Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census... |
760,084 (2006) The two local government areas of Kaduna |
1,561,000 | 1,670,000 | ||
| 35 | Kumasi Kumasi Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea... |
1,171,311 (2000) District (Kumasi Metropolitan Area) |
1,834,000 | 1,630,000 | ||
| 36 | Lubumbashi Lubumbashi Lubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border... |
1,543,000 | 1,570,000 | |||
| 37 | Mbuji-Mayi Mbuji-Mayi Mbuji-Mayi serves as the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the third largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa and second largest city Lubumbashi but ahead of Kisangani and Kananga. The city is the DRC's third-largest,... |
1,488,000 | 1,520,000 | |||
| 38 | Mogadishu Mogadishu Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries.... |
1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | |||
| 39 | Brazzaville Brazzaville -Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo... |
1,174,005 (2005) Province-level city |
1,323,000 | 1,430,000 | ||
| 40 | Oran Oran Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest... |
634,112 (1998) Commune |
770,000 | 1,260,000 |  |
|
| 41 | Benin | 1,302,000 | 1,240,000 | |||
| 42 | Port Harcourt | 541,116 (2006) Local government area |
1,104,000 | 1,230,000 |  |
|
| 43 | Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three... |
911,643 (2005) Municipality |
1,108,000 | 1,210,000 | ||
| 44 | Freetown Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of... |
947,122 (2004) Western Area province |
901,000 | 1,200,000 | ||
| 45 | Cotonou Cotonou -Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:... |
665,100 (2002) Commune |
844,000 | 1,150,000 |  |
|
| 46 | Vereeniging | 800,819 (2007) District municipality |
1,143,000 | Not listed | ||
| 47 | Fès FES FES or Fes may refer to:* Fes or Fez, a city in Morocco* FES , a human gene that encodes the feline sarcoma oncogene enzyme* FES , a fictional singer from Chaos;Head anime series and alias of Yui Sakakibara for her songs from Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate anime series* Flywheel energy storage, an... |
977,946 (2004) Préfecture |
1,065,000 | 1,110,000 | ||
| 48 | Maiduguri Maiduguri Maiduguri, also fondly called Yerwa by its locals, is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the Firki swamps in the areas around Lake Chad... |
521,492 (2006) Local government area |
970,000 | 1,100,000 | ||
| 49 | Monrovia Monrovia Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately... |
1,010,970 (2008) Municipality |
827,000 | 1,080,000 | ||
| 50 | Port Elizabeth | 1,050,930 (2007) Metropolitan municipality (Nelson Mandela Bay) |
1,068,000 | 1,070,000 | ||
| 51 | Huambo Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268... |
1,034,000 | Not listed | |||
| 52 | Ogbomosho Ogbomosho Ogbomosho is a city in Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria, on the A1 highway. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 645,000 as of 1991; as of March 2005, it is estimated to be around 1,200,000.... |
1,032,000 | Not listed | |||
| 53 | Zaria Zaria Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family... |
408,198 (2006) Local government area |
963,000 | 1,030,000 |  |
|
| 54 | Ndjamena | 829,000 | 1,020,000 |